


5 Times Rip Saved Gideon and 1 Time Gideon Saved Rip

by DarkShade



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, Prompt Fic, RipFic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-10 13:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18661744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkShade/pseuds/DarkShade
Summary: Five stories where Rip saved Gideon and one where Gideon saved Rip.





	1. Scrapped

Michael wandered the shipyard trying to think. They were to find a project of some kind to show everything that they had learned before they came to the Vanishing Point for their training and everyone seemed to have a project idea but him.

That wasn’t exactly true, but all the ideas Michael had were things he’d need to study much more for because he had no idea how to do any of them.

Checking his watch Michael knew there was only another twenty minutes before Time Master Druce would expect him back at the rendezvous point. His mentor had brought Michael to the Vanishing Point to see it and give him some ideas of what project he could do.

Michael was ecstatic to come on the trip, he looked up to Druce, the man had saved his life bringing him to the Refuge and gave him a goal in life.

Becoming a Time Master like Druce was something Michael dreamed of, and he worked hard to make the older man proud of him. From the place Michael had come from, the technology here had at first overwhelmed him. Michael remembered the fear he’d felt when he saw everything and how it had taken weeks for him to understand the new world he was in.

 

Kicking a piece of scrap metal in frustration Michael was surprised when it hit something in the darkness. Pulling out his torch he stared in amazement when the beam of light fell onto a ship. Scorch marks covered the hull, as did a lot of dirt hiding its designation. Moving closer Michael could see that the cargo bay door was opened slightly.

Slowly and carefully Michael climbed inside, jumping when a light flickered on showing the mess of the interior. Part of him knew he should leave and go back to wait for Druce, but this was a Timeship and it was something he was going to have one day. He couldn’t resist exploring.

“I…I…I…Identify you…you…you…yourself?” a woman’s voice came when he managed to squeeze through the doors onto the bridge.

Looking around he saw a flicker of blue from the centre console, “Hello, I’m Michael.”

“Michael?” Druce’s voice made him spin guiltily to where the Time Master now stood, “What are you doing?”

Swallowing nervously Michael pulled himself to attention, “I was just looking, sir.” He took a quick breath before asking, “What happened here?”

“This is the Waverider, Michael,” Druce told him.

Eyes wide Michael looked around, “Really?”

The story of the Waverider and its last Captain was a legend that everyone knew. The bravery shown by her stopping a group of Time Pirates who were trying to destroy the Vanishing Point was a tale his mother had told them so many times.

Druce nodded, “It’s such a shame that the ship lies here like this. She was once the flagship of the fleet.”

“I…I…I…Identify you…you…you…yourself?” the voice came again.

Moving to the control panel Druce pushed a few buttons, “It’s alright, Gideon you can sleep again.”

“Gideon?” Michael asked confused, “Is that the name of the AI? I’ve never heard of one called that before.”

And he had memorised every AI, along with their personality quirks, for the day he had one as his constant companion.

“Gideon is one of the original AIs,” Druce explained, “She was always interesting but the damage to the Waverider was so extensive. No one wanted to leave her here, but it was for the best. I think I’ll talk to the council about doing something more permanent.”

“Can I make this my project?”

Druce looked at him confused at the blurted question.

Michael took a breath and straightened himself, “I would like to try and repair the AI for the ship. As my project.”

Sighing slightly Druce rested his hand on Michael’s shoulder, “This is not exactly what we mean by a project for your level.”

“I know,” Michael said before rushing on, “But if she’s the original AI it would be a shame if she was destroyed. And you know it’s my best subject.”

Druce studied the boy thoughtfully.

“And if I do fix her,” Michael continued, “I can try to fix the ship as well.”

“The Waverider and it’s captains were always a force to be reckoned with,” Druce noted with a nod, “We could get her back out there with a new Captain.”

“With me,” Michael stated.

Druce looked at him questioningly.

“If I manage to repair the AI and fix the ship then when I become a Captain,” Michael said, drawing himself up, “She becomes my ship.”

Michael did his best not to fidget as Druce stared at him. Finally, the older man nodded.

“That sounds like something I can get the council to agree to,” Druce told him, “But this means that you are responsible for this ship from now on. Any parts you need must be requested properly and you can’t get anyone to do anything for you.”

Michael nodded.

“Questions will be allowed,” Druce gave him a slight smile, “Now, I need to return you to the refuge or Miss Xavier will have my head.”

“Yes, sir,” Michael said.

Druce nodded and started off the ship.

Michael looked around the bridge and smiled at himself before he rested his hand on the central console.

“I’ll be back soon, Gideon,” he said softly, “And I’ll fix you. I promise.”

Hearing Druce call his name Michael ran to catch up with him knowing one day this would be his ship.


	2. Virus

“Gideon?”

“I have connected to the Pirates ship,” Gideon reported, “You can now board it.”

Rip checked his weapons, “Alright, Gideon let’s go.”

“Be careful, Captain,” Gideon told him.

He nodded, “Always.”

When she opened the airlock, Rip started into the other ship, firing at the pirates who were waiting for him. All were down within three minutes, making Rip smile to himself.

“Don’t get cocky, Captain,” Gideon’s voice came in his ear, “Their leader is still loose onboard the vessel.”

Rolling his eyes Rip started towards the bridge of the other ship. The door opened and several shots flew out of them. Rip dodged before firing back.

Sliding through the doors onto the bridge, Rip ducked down behind one of the consoles.

“This would be so much easier on both of us if you just surrendered now,” Rip called out, “I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

“Go to hell, Time Master,” the other man snarled.

Rolling his eyes, Rip replied, “If that’s your answer then we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

Jumping up Rip fired at the same time the other man did. The pirate fell to the ground and Rip re-holstered his gun.

“Captain Hunter,” Gideon’s voice came in his ear, “The self-destruct has been activated, return to the Waverider immediately.”

“See you in hell,” the pirate snarled as Rip started back to his own ship.

Reaching the airlock Rip quickly detached from the pirate’s ship, “Gideon, get us away from here as fast as possible.”

“Captain, hold on to something,” Gideon told him urgently, “The self-destruct will activate in three, two, one.”

Rip grabbed onto a handle as the ship rocked violently. Waiting until he was sure there were no aftershocks, Rip headed up to the bridge.

“Okay, Gideon,” he said, “Let control know we’ve completed our mission.”

“I regret to tell you that I am unable to do so, Captain,” Gideon said softly, “Before setting the auto-destruct, the Pirates uploaded a virus through the link I made.”

“What?”

Gideon’s voice was gentle as she replied, “I am sorry, Captain but I do not have the capability to destroy the virus and keep the life support on long enough to get you to safety. I have to shut down in order to ensure your survival.”

“No,” Rip breathed, “No.”

“It is the only option, Captain,” Gideon told him, “Your life is my priority.”

“Gideon, I will not let you do this,” Rip snapped.

“Unfortunately, this is not your choice,” Gideon told him, “There is nothing onboard to provide the additional processing power I need to destroy the virus.”

Rip shook his head, “I can’t lose you, Gideon.”

“It shall be possible to reboot me once at the Vanishing Point, Captain,” she reminded him.

“But it won’t be you,” Rip told her.

“Goodbye, Captain,” Gideon said before her avatar shut down.

Rip felt his entire body freeze, “Gideon? Gideon, please don’t do this. Gideon?”

Silence filled the bridge and Rip felt his world crumbling, he couldn’t lose her. Gideon was his best friend, the only one he could talk to. He told her everything. He even trusted her with his biggest secret – Miranda.

An idea hit him, and Rip knew Gideon would not be happy, but Rip couldn’t lose her.

 

Rip looked around the bridge trying to work out what was wrong. Finally, he realised that it was slowly becoming darker, as Gideon lost the fight with the virus.

“Captain?” the familiar voice made him turn and he stared at the beautiful woman glaring at him, “What are you doing here?”

He opened his mouth in astonishment and finally managed to ask, “Gideon?”

Folding her arms in annoyance, she nodded, “Of course. Who else would I be? Why have you connected yourself to the computer core?”

“You said you needed the additional processing power,” Rip replied, tapping the side of his head, “That’s me.”

“Captain, this is very dangerous,” Gideon breathed moving to his side and touching his cheek, “You could be damaged.”

Rip leaned into her hand, “If it saves you then I’ll take the chance.”

A brilliant smile lit up her face and she hugged him tightly, “Oh my dear Captain. You are so different. No other Time Master would ever offer such a thing to his AI.”

“Then they’re all fools,” Rip replied.

Gideon let him go before giving him a stern look, “Are you at least in the medical bay so that I can treat you if this does harm you?”

Rip nodded, “Yes.”

Giving him a fond smile, Gideon offered her hand. Rip took it feeling an electric shock go through his body and nearly fell to his knees.

“Hold on, Captain,” Gideon told him, “I am nearly there, it’s almost gone.”

Exhaustion filled him but Rip continued to grip Gideon’s hand, she needed him to hold on for her and he would because making sure she survived was all that mattered.

 

“Captain?”

The gentle call brought Rip back to consciousness. He could feel the infirmary chair beneath him and the weight of the cuff on his wrist.

“Captain,” the call came again, “Wake up.”

“Gideon?” he murmured.

“I’m here, Captain.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Rip smiled, “You always are.”

“Thanks to you.”


	3. Sticky Fingers

“Captain Hunter!!!”

Gideon’s alarmed call made Rip chuckle as he darted across the room and scooped his two-year-old son up into his arms.

“Oh no you don’t,” Rip said, tickling his son, “Sticky fingers and Gideon’s systems do not mix, little man.”

“Gid,” Jonas cried, clapping his hands, “Gid.”

Rip kissed his son’s head, “I know you love her, but Gideon could be hurt if you touch her wiring. Especially with that jam all over your hands.”

Jonas giggled, he tried to grab Rip’s face who quickly dodged out of the way. Rip shifted the boy so he was carrying his son under his arm.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Rip told him, “And then you can play with Gideon.”

Jonas cheered before he stretched his arms out in front of him pretending to fly as Rip carried him off the bridge.


	4. Upgrades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the last one was so short, here is another chapter.

“If you even think about touching the console,” Rip threatened, “I will shoot you.”

The technician stared at him, hand frozen in mid-air.

“Is there a problem here?” a familiar voice came from behind making Rip turn.

Time Master Druce walked onto the bridge of the Waverider, obviously called in to help by the tech team.

Rip took a deep breath, “They are wanting to touch my AI.”

Druce turned to the other man.

“Sir,” the nervous tech said, “These are upgrades that all ships and AIs are receiving. The council declared them mandatory. The Waverider and Gideon are scheduled for this to be done today.”

Rip glared at the man repeating, “I will shoot you.”

“Captain Hunter,” Druce stated sharply motioning him to the parlour, “A word in private.”

Walking with his mentor, Rip glanced quickly at the tech making sure he knew there would be consequences if the other man dared lay a finger on Gideon’s systems.

Reaching the parlour Rip folded his arms and waited for the older man to speak.

“Rip,” Druce said disapprovingly, “It is unbecoming of a Captain to threaten a member of the maintenance crew.”

Taking a deep breath Rip reminded him, “I rebuilt Gideon. She is not the same as the other AI’s in the fleet and you know this.”

“I understand that you have a strong connection with her because you spent so much time working to fix her,” Druce said, “But these upgrades have been approved by the council.”

“And it was agreed, by the council,” Rip countered, “That everything to do with Gideon was my decision, since I did all the work to fix her.”

Druce nodded.

“Also,” Rip continued, “I checked what the upgrades will do, and it will remove a lot of her personality matrix.”

“A realignment of the AI personalities is long overdue,” Druce told him, “Gideon especially has a few personality quirks…”

“Which I like,” Rip cut him off quickly, “She may berate me and on occasion blast music just to annoy me but,” he stopped Druce from saying anything else, “She is unwaveringly loyal and I know she’ll do everything to ensure I’m safe during a mission. I like her the way she is, this upgrade will effectively kill her.”

Sighing Druce shook his head, “Fine, Rip. I will talk to the council and remind them of the previous agreement concerning the Waverider.”

Rip smiled, “Thank you, sir. Now, you might want to get the techs off my ship before Gideon does something permanent to them.”

Rip let out a long sigh of relief as the ship emptied of the technicians.

“Thank you, Captain,” Gideon said softly, “Although I am surprised you didn’t agree to remove the qualities of mine that you find infuriating.”

“You wouldn’t be you,” Rip told her with a smile, “And I happen to like you, exactly as you are.”


	5. Intruders

Rip swore to himself as his ship was invaded by intruders. The team he’d called Legends were supposed to be helping him save his family not driving him insane.

“Sara?” he demanded over the comm, “Where are you?”

“Galley,” she called back just before there was a loud crash, “Really hope you didn’t have a favourite mug.”

Rolling his eyes, Rip began to run through the corridors, “Gideon, status?”

“There are three intruders,” she told him, “Mr Rory, Mr Snart and Dr Palmer are trapped outside but they are heading to find the pirates ship to ensure they have nowhere to go.”

“Martin? Jax?”

“Professor Stein is trapped in the lab,” Gideon said, “Mr Jackson has barricaded himself in the engine room along with Miss Saunders as per your instructions. You are aware of Miss Lance’s current position.”

Nodding Rip started up to the bridge, once again what should have been a simple mission had turned into a complete and utter disaster. Because someone just had to drink a little too much and open their mouth in front of the wrong person.

Rip reached the bridge, hoping the members of the team who were onboard remembered his instructions on how to protect themselves when he activated the defence system. Not exactly standard for a Time Ship but then Rip had never been standard in anything he did.

“Gideon,” he called as he started towards the central console, “Give them the warning then activate.”

“Yes, Captain,” she replied the lights around him, and he knew around the ship, flashing three times.

Hearing a noise Rip turned and saw one of the intruders aiming at the central console, directly at Gideon’s main processor. With a cry he threw himself forward feeling a flash of heat in his chest, pain thrumming through his back when it hit something solid before a cry came from near him and electricity arced through his body.

 

“Captain,” a voice softly called to him, “Rip, open your eyes.”

Forcing his eyes open Rip was greeted by several faces all looking down at him worriedly, “What happened?”

“According to Gideon,” Sara said, leading as always, “You threw yourself into the line of fire,” she frowned at him, “Are you trying to get yourself killed?

Rip grimaced, his mind clearing and the memory returning, “He was aiming at Gideon. If he’d hit her then we would have been trapped unable to return to the temporal zone or your home time.”

“Well, you’re lucky that we were able to get up to the bridge as fast as we were,” Kendra told him, “You were hurt pretty badly.”

Taking a long breath, Rip smiled slightly, “I knew Gideon would take care of any injuries.”  
Sara rolled her eyes at him.

“Captain Hunter requires rest,” Gideon spoke up.

“And with that,” Snart spoke up, “We’re out of here.”

“Get some rest,” Ray told him, clapping his leg.

Nodding Rip sighed softly as he closed his eyes listening to the sound of the team leaving the room.

After a moment, Gideon spoke up, “That was a very reckless thing you did, Captain.”

“It was necessary,” he breathed.

“Captain…”

“He was aiming directly at your systems,” Rip pushed himself so he was sitting up, “If he had hit them, I would have lost you. I can’t lose you too, Gideon. You know that.”

“Relax, Captain,” Gideon soothed, “I am here. You won’t lose me, and I am very grateful for your actions.”

Closing his eyes in relief Rip felt a slight vibration at his hand, feeling Gideon’s touch through the medical cuff as he fell asleep again.


	6. Retrieval

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the final chapter.  
> Hope you enjoyed.

Rip took a deep breath as he held onto the time core, walking off his ship to face the Time Demon. He should have known this was how it would end.

He could feel the energy from the core, energy he’d once used to send himself through time to protect a secret he should have shared. Part of him knew that keeping secrets again would not end well but he hadn’t seen another way.

Rip had felt alone for such a long time, had missed having Gideon with him to keep him right because the Legends needed her more.

Reaching his destination, Rip gripped the core tightly seeing the creature coming at him. He stared at it unflinchingly, it was not the worst looking thing he’d encountered in his time.

“Ironic isn’t it,” Rip mocked the creature, “A Time Demon running out of time.”

The light grew brighter around him, and Rip had to close his eyes. Suddenly he felt himself falling and let out an involuntary cry when he slammed into the solid ground.

 

“Captain?”

Rip lay for a moment, taking several deep breaths waiting for the pain to subside.

“Captain.”

“I’m here,” he whispered, “Gideon? What happened?”

There was a small beat of silence before she answered, “I activated your Time Courier at the moment the core exploded.”

Confused at her hesitation Rip looked around what he worked out was his room, “And?”

“The co-ordinates I used were scrambled slightly,” Gideon explained evasively.

Rip sighed, “Gideon, how long has it been?”

Before she could answer the door opened and a woman bounced in, with sparkling brown eyes and wild tresses of black hair. Rip knew the bright smile that was suddenly aimed at him.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

She crossed the space between them and offered her hand, “Martina Jackson, current Captain of the Waverider.”

“Jackson?”

“I believe you knew my dad,” she said. 

Rip stared at her for a moment before realisation hit him, “You’re Jax’s daughter,” at her affirmative nod Rip had to take a few breaths turning away from the young woman, “Gideon?”

“As I said, Captain,” Gideon said matter-of-factly, “The co-ordinates were scrambled. Until this moment, I believed my attempt to save you had failed.”

Smiling, Rip rested his hand on the wall, “You didn’t. I’m here again. You saved me.”

“So,” Martina spoke up, “Do you want me to catch you up?”

Nodding Rip smiled, “That would be helpful. Just give me a minute and I’ll join you in the galley.”

Martina nodded, “I’ll have a drink ready for you.” She grinned before bouncing away.

Rip waited for a few minutes until he was sure she was gone.

“Gideon?”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Thank you,” he whispered softly, “I never thought I would ever be with you again.”

“Nor I,” Gideon replied.

“Thank you for saving my life,” Rip said sincerely.

“Always, Rip.”


End file.
